What will be in History books 20 years later about today? (WWII, war)

[slick828]

Please list five fairly recent events (less than 5 years ago) that have shaped history and have profound effects and will be analyzed for years to come in History books. Please keep it post 2005.

Here are mines:
1) Barrack Obama is first Black US President
2) Earthquake in Indonesia causes massive tsunami
3) Credit/Housing Bubble burst
4) Hurricane Katrina destroys gulf coast
5) N Korea announces it has nuclear weapons

I'm heavily biased (like we all are) because I'm an American. I would like to see what other people think. Hopefully we have a nice slew of events. As a disclaimer, there is nothing here about the Iraq or Afghanistan wars because i cannot think of one single event in those wars that shook history. The wars definitely are a massive part of our history, but its been much more of a grinding movement rather than a large event (like the Tet offensive, or the battle of the bulge).

[Cali BassMan]

1. The failed policy's of the current and past administrations
2. How Military spending bankrupted America ( Much like the former USSR)
3. The Loss of the middle Class
4. How crooked politicians ruined our ForeFathers dream
5. How American inndifference and Political Correctness turned us into a 3rd world Nation

[MrMarbles]

I think historical treatment of the 2000's (decade) will be (has it was) dominated by 2 things:

1. The "Global War on Terror", from 9/11 to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan
2. The Great Recession, including the real estate bubble preceding it

Everything will be viewed in the context of those 2 events.

[cpg35223]

1. 9/11 and the Iraq/Afghanistan Wars.
2. The Second Great Depression (Don't kid yourself. We are in one).
3. The Twin Failures of Keynesianism and Monetarism, both through the creation of #2 and their failure to mitigate it.
4. The Rise of India.
5. The Great Decentralization of Everything.

[mwruckman]

I'm not convinced we will even be writing history books in 2030. The few people left living in caves and chiping simple stone tools or trying to cure leather won't have the time for writing history books.

[slick828]

This is a fairly depressing thread. Then again the last decade has lots of negatives to look at, no one noted the Darfur Genocide, Georgia conflict, etc.

[AuburnAL]

Nothing. The school year already ends at WWII.

[Charles]

Things that really weren't here or grew tremendously from five years ago:

Rise of Twitter and Facebook
Rise of 3G high speed data on cell phones and personal portable electronics.
Cell phones as common as pencils.

[round tuit]

It will be in the form of U-Tube! (Called H-Tube)

[kevxu]

Originally Posted by slick828

... As a disclaimer, there is nothing here about the Iraq or Afghanistan wars because i cannot think of one single event in those wars that shook history. The wars definitely are a massive part of our history, but its been much more of a grinding movement rather than a large event (like the Tet offensive, or the battle of the bulge).

This sounds like a singularly American view of things.

The invasion of Iraq scuttled any chances of a victory in Afghanistan, it catapulted Iran to a position it would never otherwise have arrived at and it contributed greatly to promoting Shia extremism in the Middle East and the world.

It's effects may last longer and be more devastating than the current financial crisis.

As a result of the wretched planning of the Iraq invasion, American nation under the Bush administration shot itself in the head while it seemed to be aiming at its foot.